Australian Government Values Whales At $290 AUD Each

Thursday February 27, 2014 – Melbourne,
Australia —Senate transcripts released yesterday have
revealed a number of facts about Australian government’s
program to monitor whaling operations in the Southern Ocean,
including costs relating to the first, and so far only,
surveillance flight.

Ms Donna Petrachenko, Chief Advisor
of International Biodiversity and Sustainability
and Australia’s Commissioner to the International Whaling
Commission,stated that the surveillance flight cost $93,248
AUD for the lease of the A319 aircraft alone. Further costs
for customs staff and other expenses remain
undisclosed.

The total budget allocated for flights is
$300,000, which, based on the cost of the first flight,
allows for only two further flights this whaling season. No
explanation has been given by the government as to why there
has been only one flight to date.

Earlier this year, the
Australian government reportedly spent $1.8 million AUD
rescuing a Russian ship in Antarctica after the ship became
stuck in ice.

Captain Siddharth Chakravarty of The Steve
Irwin said, "The Australian Government's commitment to
protecting the whales in the Southern Ocean is a very weak
one. The cost of the surveillance program divided by the
lives of 1035 threatened and protected whales equates to a
mere $289.86 AUD per whale. Sea Shepherd's fuel bill alone
is four times the allocation of the Abbot government's whale
monitoring program."

On Wednesday, Australian Air Force
Chief Geoff Brown shed doubt on the credibility of the
monitoring program when he told a Senate estimates hearing
that, "The [Airbus] A319 is not suitable for that task," of
monitoring Antarctic whaling.

Captain Peter Hammarstedt
of The Bob Barker stated, “Minister Hunt claimed that
his surveillance flights would be more effective than
sending a ship, while at the same time only budgeting for
three flights for the entire three-month whaling season. My
ship has sustained two unprovoked attacks so far and the
promised aircraft wasn't present for either of them. Japan
thinks that they can get away with battering and pummelling
my ship as we uphold the will of the Australian people,
because no one is here to watch them. An Australian Customs
vessel could have prevented the ruthless and unprovoked
attacks that Australia did nothing to stop.”

On Tuesday,
Captain Hammarstedt wrote an open letter to Minister Hunt,
expressing his disappointment at the Australian
government’s lack of action in the face of an onslaught by
the Japanese whaling fleet on the Sea Shepherd ships and the
Australian citizens on board. The letter followed a second
night-time ambush from the Japanese whaling fleet on his
ship, during which three harpoon ships crossed his bow at
close proximity 33 times, trailing steel cables meant to
disable his ship’s rudder and propeller.

As yet, Mr.
Hunt has not responded to the letter.

Operational matters
relating to the Australian government’s surveillance
flights remain confidential and there is currently no
process to determine how the government will judge the
effectiveness of its monitoring operations. Further, Mr.
Malcolm Thompson, Deputy Secretary of the Department of the
Environment, the Department under which the directive for
the flights was initiated, has stated that he is “not even
privy to, let alone able to share” information relating to
the monitoring flight, but rather, receives debriefing from
the Australian Customs Department, whose personnel are
present on the flight.

In July 2013, Australia challenged
the legality of the Japanese whaling operations at the
International Court of Justice. The government would not
commit to increasing law enforcement measures next season
if a judgement is issued in Australia’s favour
at International Court of Justice.

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